Have you ever taken a life-saving course? They teach you how to help a person if they stop breathing or their heart stops. These days, they teach you how to use AEDs. These special devices help to start the heart again. There is an AED at the environmental center where I work, and every year at the beginning of April, we have a life-saving training course. We practice with people-sized dolls. We try to talk to them, and we ask one person to call 119 and another person to bring the AED. While we are waiting for help, we pump their chest to keep them alive. The AED checks the person’s heart rhythm and gives the heart a shock. That shock can help the heart start working again. If you have a chance, take a life-saving course. You could save someone’s life!  (142 words) You can send me a comment or your own

Expo 2025 opened in Osaka yesterday. It is the third time that Japan has held a world exposition. The first expo was in Osaka in 1970. It was very successful and had more visitors than any other world expo until the Shanghai World Expo in 2010. I remember the second expo in Aichi Prefecture in 2005 because I was already living here. Each expo has something new to show. The 1970 Osaka Expo showed the first IMAX movie and introduced conveyor-belt sushi. The 2005 Aichi Expo had robots and a frozen mammoth from Russia. What are the attractions at Expo 2025? They have the largest wooden building in the world, and you can see flying cars.  (116 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

Watching TV shows has changed a lot since I was a child. When I was growing up, there were no streaming services. If you wanted to watch a TV show, you had to watch it when it was on. If you missed it, you didn’t have another chance. These days, people can watch anything they want, and they can watch it whenever they want to. They can buy DVDs or use streaming services. Some people watch a whole series in one day! That’s called “binge-watching.” I try not to binge-watch, but when I get to the last few episodes of a show, I can’t wait. I binge-watch to the end.   (110 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

I live near a university, and on the campus, there is a large burial mound, “kofun” in Japanese. It goes back to the 4th and 5th centuries, about 1600 years ago. Who built it? Who is buried in it? I’m not sure that we know the answers to these questions, but last year, the university started digging a hole for a new building near the burial mound. They stopped when they found some very old pottery and stones. They are learning more about the people who made it and how they lived. I like my neighborhood because it has a lot of history. People keep finding out more about history here every year. What about your neighborhood? Is there any history under the ground near your house?   (127 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com

It’s time to go back to school. The spring holidays are over, and the new school year is starting. Yesterday I saw a lot of parents walking in my neighborhood with their six-year-old children. They were all dressed up. The fathers and their sons were wearing suits, the mothers and their daughters were wearing dresses. They were going to the entrance ceremony at the local elementary school. Today will be the children’s first day at school. It’s a new experience for them. They are probably excited, but they are also nervous. They are probably thinking, “Will I know anyone in my class? Will I be able to make friends? Will my teacher be nice?” (114 words) You can send me a comment or your own story at jaremaga@gmail.com